Stories of Us
by experiment
Summary: [Collection] Unrelated drabbles or small oneshots concerning various characters and pairings. 06. Ty Lee contemplation. 07. Sometimes it takes three to make it work.
1. Break

Break

His sister's control over herself when she is near the prince is phenomenal. Even Aang has called him 'mean' more than a few times (quite an insult, in Aang's mind). She does not rage at him (it only delights Zuko, who, it seems, is _only_ proficient at arguing). She does not protest any of his actions (he will learn that crossing a river by using slippery rocks is not a good idea). She'll heal his small cuts because an infection would slow the group down. She'll share their supplies with him because not to do so is just not feasible.

When Zuko and Iroh had first begun to travel with them, Sokka had told Katara not to trust them, especially Zuko, who had shifty eyes and was not much older than Katara and a _Prince_ at that - Sokka _knew_ how easily she fell prey to older, leader-type boys. But she had reassured him – "Sokka, I can't _imagine_ giving _him_ my back" – with such hate in her words. _He_ trusted Zuko more than Katara (Zuko was really too useless to be much of a threat now).

Always, she was polite, but distant. And so Katara shocked (and pleased) Sokka when she began to yell at Zuko, standing over him and pointing her finger (and clenching her other hand, and stomping her feet and also, sometimes, waving her arms around like a flightless bird). Maybe she'll hit him, Sokka thought gleefully.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, _no._ And _that's_ _final._"

Always, Sokka was torn between letting Zuko tease Katara – after all, angering Katara was tiring work and Sokka needed to take a break _sometime_ – and giving that spoiled brat a good beating with the sharp edge of his boomerang for even _daring_ to speak to his precious, sweet baby sister. And Sokka would not admit this, but he had begun to – to _enjoy _Zuko's company, well, that is, if he wasn't trying to give orders or hunt or speak or train or do anything else, and that made his decision harder.

The choice is this – should he let her unleash five months of her frustration for a useless, space-taking, supply-dwindling, stubborn, rude, hopelessly self-centered, (did he say _useless_?) Prince? …

(Sokka paused, for once enjoying the sound of Katara's angry voice.)

Should he step in and try to calm Katara down?

Sokka looked at Iroh, and the retired General held his gaze for a few long seconds before returning to his carving.

_Nah._

_

* * *

_  
A/N: I enjoy Sokka's character and his relationship with his sister so much. Not very Zutara, but after Jet, I just can't image Katara trusting easily, _especially _Zuko. Zuko's uselessness and frustration in Cave of Two Lovers was hilarious (for some reason, I'm sure we all expected him to be a better fisherman) and I just _had_ to capitalize on it.


	2. Puppet

Puppet 

He found her… annoying.

For the first time in Zuko's life, his uncle was not doting on him. For the first time in three years, he was not the one commanding all of the attention or just commanding, period. And the worst part of it all was that she didn't even _notice_ – she didn't use it to her advantage, didn't acknowledge it, didn't manipulate, didn't do _anything_.

"Zuko..," Katara waited until he looked at her, "Will you please help me?"

"No! And it's _Prince_ Zuko," he practically shouted, and she was left with four packs at her feet, wondering what she said _now_. And he was no longer a Prince, really - Katara refused to pay homage to a dead title.

"Now, Prince Zuko, be polite," Uncle Iroh, as Katara had also taken to calling him, softly scolded Zuko.

"Yeah, and while you're at it, why don't you try to actually _do something_," Sokka yelled from across the camp, where he was dousing a fire with water.

"I'll help, Katara," Aang popped up cheerily beside her, and she smiled and thanked him.

But when Aang reached for the pack nearest him, a pale hand grabbed it, and bending slightly to the other side, Zuko lifted another pack.

His eyes were narrowed in anger (the gold so foreign to her) and Katara coughed on the smoke seeping from his closed lips. (Three pairs of eyes turned at the harsh sound, all holding disapproval for a certain Prince.) Her own blue eyes were satisfied, triumphant.

He's like a puppet, Katara thought, only _she _didn't have to pull the strings.

"Thank you," Katara said, with faux sweetness, as she and Aang lifted the last two packs on to Appa.

Katara: 13, Zuko: 0

* * *

A/N: Katara knows exactly what she's doing and someone out there has to take Zuko off his high Komodo Rhino and make him walk with other mortals. Ah, and you gotta love peer pressure! 

Pimping:  
Traveling Tales From the Bison's Back by Storybender


	3. Music Night

Music Night 

She came on to the ship with the force of a tidal wave, dropping from the bison to crash across the deck, sending two, three – no, five, men over the metal edges, into the gloomy blue.

Another was encased in ice, two frozen to the deck, the rest were water whipped, blasted or too drunk to fight anyway.

But the belly of the ship held many men and all waves eventually recede, and though she attacked under the brightness of Yue, though she fought with all the fury contained in her sixteen years, she could not save.

She came for her brother. The boy was sent off with out her. (Who knew that metal amplified screaming sobs so sickly well?)

In the morning, she poured tea in to small red and gold cups as the thick collar around her neck chafed.

* * *

A/N: Questions that prompted this fic: Reasonably, why would Katara be on Zuko's ship? And what would really happen once she was there? Originally, this was planned as a full length oneshot, and (cough) IrohxKatara. Uh, yeah.  



	4. Of Princes

Of Princes 

The fire (a destructive thing, always gasping in air, feeding on the land, and therefore destroying to survive) becomes a warm, welcoming glow reflected in amber eyes. What does he see in the fire?

After the first month of traveling, the novelty of knowing a real, live _Prince_ is gone, giving a space for her to fill with... with what?

"I have a surprise for you," she says softly, jolting both of them out of the silence, but only he jumps. "I'll be right back," she says, even softer than before, and disappears out of the circle of light.

He swallows in fear of a young girl, afraid of what the surprise is – he fears that she is going to attempt seduction and then he'll have to explain to her that–

A hand comes into view, dangling something from two outstretched fingers, and he can feel the soft heat of her body across his back – she is almost touching him and he has an urge to lean back into her and see how soft her figure really is. And then the smell of something he thought long, long lost sneaks into his senses, coming from the bag she holds in front of him.

"Ginseng! My favorite!"

* * *

A/N: Fooled you, huh? Yep, IrohxKatara is gross, but_ so_ fun to write. 

Pimping:  
Ginkgo Leaves by Eladriewen  
Wind and Rain by subdivided  
push by PallaPlease  
Transition by Boosette


	5. Foundation

Foundation

"Unh. Help me," the girl croaks, her leg bent oddly and the white of bone visible. Blood, blood, and blood, red like her shredded clothes, like her nation.

(_Is it burning? Is it_ _burning?_)

Blue meets red, hands clasp, sisterhood.

When Katara is not so young, not so vulnerable, not so pretty, not so weak, useless, human, in control, warm, whole, caring, selfless – when she can no longer heal because her body resists it (_want to die, want to die, want to die_), when she can no longer smile because no one is left alive to make her laugh, can no longer define the word fun because _oh,_ this_ is what is meant by the word slaughter_, when her soul is gone, when her world is gone, when her mind is gone, _then_ she will realize that she – her – it – _that _was not a girl, but a monster.  
What sort of monster? An angry one that took Katara's innocence, _all_ forms of it, and warped and infected her until blood was for bathing, music - the screams of the tortured.

Blue meets red, hands clasp, sisterhood.

"I will help you, Azula."

* * *

A/N: I can't wait to find out what Azula's motive is (in the show), because I don't believe in having characters do something with out giving a reason for their actions. Because of that, Zhao always slightly upset me (though his complete evilness was exciting).

Pimping:  
Can We Keep Him? by Kit Spooner  
Brightest in the Dark by Ataraia  
Tempest in a Teacup by AkaVertigo


	6. Sequential Motion

Sequential Motion

There was a Platypus Bear Tamer first. Then there was a Juggler. After than came a Magician. When Azula came for her, Ty Lee was very close to having the Circus Master. Always, it was the way she bent, he would say softly into her ear when her leg was twisted over his shoulder, and Ty Lee would blush and hate every one of them, pushing her itching palms flat into the mattress. All Azula liked was the way she bent too.

* * *

A/N: Like the last drabble, I'm not sure where this came from - Ty Lee is awesome and so while contemplating her character, I've come to realize that Azula doesn't care _who _Ty Lee is, but only about her ability as a gymnast. 

Note on updates: I apologize for the lack of updates. I had a few intense back to back projects and papers that controlled my attention. Please do not think that I am holding out until I received more reviews – I don't work like that. Of course, reviews are _always_ appreciated…. hinthint.


	7. Teamwork

Teamwork

The morning of the day Azula achieved blue flame, Mai accidentally sliced her palm diagonally from the base of her thumb to the base of her smallest finger. She bled everywhere, Ty Lee can remember vividly because the red had rose with no sound as Mai cradled the curled hand to her body. Azula cauterized the wound as Ty Lee clasped Mai around the middle. With the other unbroken palm, Mai muffled her own screams.

* * *

A/N: I can't wait to see the dynamics between these three more fully played out. Another pointless drabble (I'm getting pretty good at saying nothing!). 


End file.
